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Scandal fuels housing bill opposition

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'Key Democrats received possibly illegal loans. Now they are willing to give lenders their own sweetheart deal on the backs of American taxpayers,' said Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).
John Shinkle

Conservatives have long opposed the housing bill as a bailout for “irresponsible” lenders and borrowers.

But the news that two Democratic senators got special mortgage deals through a VIP program at Countrywide Financial has given Republicans additional ammunition: the trappings of an ethics scandal to use to try to tarnish the housing legislation and the Democrats who wrote it.

Some Republicans now say the American people won’t be able to “trust” the housing legislation or their Congress until investigations are held. They imply that Democrats are trying to rush a bill before anyone can see what’s really in it. They’re calling Democrats hypocrites for not holding hearings on the VIP loan program after disparaging Republicans over Enron and other scandals.

Democrats and some lobbyists representing mortgage lenders say GOP leaders are just trying to make some political hay off the VIP loan story — even if it means going after an industry they usually support.

“It’s too good to pass up,” one Republican lobbyist said of the fact that Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) — who is currently managing the housing bill on the Senate floor — received a special loan deal from Countrywide.

“The Republicans are highlighting the controversy surrounding Dodd’s loan as the Democrats did with Republican mistakes,” said another K Street Republican.

Other Republicans have suggested that preferential treatment from mortgage lenders could have improperly influenced the housing bill.

“Key Democrats received possibly illegal loans. Now they are willing to give lenders their own sweetheart deal on the backs of American taxpayers,” said Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.). “It’s a stunning demonstration of disrespect for the millions of responsible American taxpayers who didn’t get involved in a shaky loan.”

A June 19 letter to Pelosi from 28 House Republicans made the same connection, demanding an investigation into lawmakers’ mortgages to determine “the extent to which this scandal might have affected public policy.” The letter’s signatories included some high-ranking caucus members, including Boehner, Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida.

Nine Senate conservatives wanted the housing bill slowed until it could be determined how much Countrywide stood to gain from the legislation.

Boehner’s office has seized upon reports that banks, including Bank of America, helped craft the housing legislation and stand to gain billions of dollars should it become law. Since the “sweetheart loan” scandal broke, Boehner’s press operation has sent reporters media accounts that detail banks’ role in writing the legislation and suggest that lenders influenced Democratic sponsors with campaign contributions.

A Washington Examiner column, for instance, quoted House and Senate staffers who oppose the bill as saying that Bank of America wrote the legislation and got exactly what it wanted. In the same story, a House GOP aide called the housing legislation the “Bank of America bill on steroids.”

Readers' Comments (20)

Another example of the democratic party under dean not representing the will of the centrist democrats. We don't want a bail out - we don't mind seeing rates frozen or encouraged refinancing but seeing the same companies with predatory processes benefiting from our tax dollars will not encourage us to vote for these leaders in the future. It is a bad deal for tax payers. Where is Saint Obama to speak out against this horrendous use of our tax dollars and to bring in the new era of politics where people who benefit from deals like this are called out? Oh wait - Johnson is his good friend so he will never investigate anyone involved in the country wide scandal. Enough is enough - for 2 years the dems have done nothing. Time a for a 3rd party - Democratic Centrist party to take hold. We need someone to hold these folks accountable for their actions!

Regardless of the scandal this bill should go down in flames. There's no reason for the government to start subsidizing mortgages.I saw yeterday they want to raise the eligibility for these loans to houses valued at over $600,000..This is absolutely ridiculous.If people can't afford a dam $600,000 mortgage let them move into a cheaper place.Bank ofAmerica were complete idiots for buying out Countrywide and you have to wonder if they did it because they knew a big government bailout was coming.What the government should do if anything is move people into rentals and pay thier rent for 6 months or something.A house is not an entitlement.The government can't get into the business of subsidizing everything in American life. That's why we have the 9 trillion debt to begin with.The people playing the crying game saying they were bamboozed on these loans are full of it. They enjoyed the cash outs and now when it's time to pay the piper they want to cry scam.This whole culture of victimization which the liberals promote has killed the American way of doing things,Namely hard work and personal responsibility.Then you have big city mayors needing the property taxes to pay for overpaid government workers and bloated bureacracies.Why does everybody have to cut back besides friggin government workers? Because the vote Dem 90% of the time,that's why.

No more glaring example of the staggering hypocrisy and immorality of Congress can be described than this scam. The loan companies totally fail. Then bribe the Dodd's of the Congress to bail them out by having the taxpayer cover their losses by giving them money in the form of low cost loans, unavailable to us.

Conservatives have long opposed the housing bill as a bailout for “irresponsible” lenders and borrowers

Note the quotation marks the author of this bit has placed around "irresponsible". She is setting it aside so you...the ultra cool reader...can join with her...in mocking Conservative Bible Clutching, gun toting, immigrant hating, trade hating Anal Retentive Republicans , who think people should have a credit record...or be a citizen. or a legal resident before getting a $750,000 loan to buy a house. Conservatives are SO YESTERDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYyyy.all

.TO:...Tell us where the Wall St. Journal went wrong on this one. A woman from Peru...illegally in the U.S.A., who by profession is and was a Hair dresser, was able to get a loan for $750,000 dollars in California. The WSJ even called out the Mortgage Company who got 10% , right off of the top, for writing that mortgage they knew the woman could not afford. And who owned that Mortgage Co? General Electric. That is right. A lot of those rotten loans...written to people who knew they could not pay them....but thought they could 'flip' ( my conservative quotation marks) those homes...as many did for years.................and make a killing..as many have done in La La Land….those Mortgage Companies were owned by the BANKS WE ARE NOW BAILING OUT. YES…that should be looked into…now.

I would also point out newspapers and Writers like the one above....who for years have screamed..Oh…..minorities are discriminated against in loans! Hispanics are turned down more than others! OH… White racist companies are not letting black citizens have credit. NO MENTION OF…….that when mortgage loans are approved, race and gender are not even on the form. Back when we had laws, the mortgage holders did not know if the loan applicant was a Hindu or a Baptist, .white or purple, male or female. All personal data was stripped from those applications. The only thing they looked at was……what k ind of credit you had and did you pay your bills. And , and oh yes....those bigots demanded USA.citizenship or legal residence. Racist White Pigs..right Ms. McGrane of the cute quotation marker.???????????

I would also point out that the Immigration Law Firm of Frogelman, Del Rio, etc. , just got busted by the Federal Govt.this week. (JUBILATION…JUBILATION) They are alleged to have been coaching American Business Men.AND WOMEN .who are required to hire qualified AmericansHOW TO See an immigration lawyer AND never AGAIN HAVE TO HIRE AN AMERICAN WORKER.. They are alleged to have given thousands of good paying American Jobs to Foreign nationals..Mostly Indians .BROUGHT TO THE USA, WITH THEIR FAMILIES BY ..The TATA Outsourcing Visa Giant.....THIS IS THE LAW FIRM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS USES WHEN IT NEEDS A RULING ON IMMIGRATION LAWS....STATUS.....read that again. This viral Anti-American Worker Immigration Law Firm................is the go to place on Immigration Issues for the Associated Press.

And I begin to rant..I get so angry…the USA People are a good and decent people and God Knows..and I beg him/her to take another LOOK..we do not deserve these Parasites who masquerate as Members of the USA Congress. Please deliver us from them..

P.S.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,So the State with the HIghest cases of Mortgage Fraud...Florida. Six Million Illegal aliens live in Florida. They are dismantling the state...illegal alien by illegal alien. And as for the Democrats...Nice people that they are...framing the foreclosure scandal as a Minority..read Black Issue...The Foreclosure rate for Atlanta ...is 6%. For California 29%. For Florida 27%. Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona (McCain's Home sTate) have HIGH foreclosure …..use your head. Black American Citizens take the blame for Hispanic Illegal misdoing all the time. Black citizens ARE Paying their mortages. They ARE NOT flipping houses to make scam money. They can't get jobs building the homes the Builder's Assoc. is Now getting paid for building...they could not compete with slave wages paid to illegal aliens either. Still...they are making their payments. 92% of all Mortgages are being paid on time in the USA.

Why are we having this conversation? Read Bloomberg. Yesterday. “Texas for Sale..Mexico is buying it back”. Get a reality check as to who has cash and who does not. Clue…It is NOT the USA.

And while the Democrats are tormenting us with Bailouts for anyone illegally in the USA..or their pet speculators...or whatever....and we have lost 8 American Soldiers in Iraq..and the Republicans still throbe with War Lust..spend, spend, spend....in Iraq...

Sometimes something comes at You..Me..Us that is so bad...it just knocks us over. And we never even see it coming.

I am referring to the The Assault on U.S.A. Police Officers and their efforts to keep the American Public..me..you..us...safe. The Democrats, every last one of them, On the DHS committee for the U.S.A. House of Representatives, voted..EVERY last one of them, to Gut the 287 (g) Bill of DHS. This was a way for ICE to train Police to work with them..and it was very effective.

But the Democrats Killed it on Tuesday, June 24. Rep. David Obey Chairs that Comm. Rep. Price of North Carolina introduced the Illegal Alien Sanctuary...Special Order 40 Bill...(what Los Angeles Has now)..and it passed. If the entire House votes for it....................YOu will be living in a Sanctuary Nation.

And Yes...the Democrats tried to pull this before....Last Summer..The McCain?Kennedy Amnesty Bill..The "Z" visa.. The Immigration Lawyers on the Democratic Immigration Comm.....did a dilly. This section of the Nine Hundred page bill...moved ALL illegal aliens into a Special Protected Class...where U.S.A. POLICE COULD NOT TOUCH ANY ILLEGAL ALIEN..CALL ICE..ASK CITIZENSHIP...UNLESS...THEY SAW THEM COMMITTING MURDER...RAPE...KIDNAPPING.

I am about 99.9 Percent...that the Democrats on the HAC...DHS sub committee JUST mandated that ILLEGAL ALIENS IN THE U.S.A. HAVE NOT COMMITTED A CRIME..AND CANNOT BE ARRESTED...OR EVEN ASKED CITIZENSHIP STATUS BY USA POLICE....FOR: Identity Theft, Social Security Fraud, Welfare Fraud, Driving without an I.D., DUI, Domestic Violence, Mortgage fraud, food stamp fraud, stolen identies...............

The U.S.A. Police CANNOT arrest them for any of the above..If they do...The Illegal Alien..gets out of Jail..and can sue the USA Police.

Read all of that again. Google the Manassa Virginia newspaper report. They are as stunned as I am. google NumbersUSA. Go to Price..Democrat..North Carolina..REad his web page. He says he wants to stop all ICE raids..

U.S.A. Police...will be stripped of any authority to Police millions of Illegal Aliens if this becomes Law. Mexico has long pushed to neutralize our police. They fear them. Because they are US. They are my neighbor..the lady in my church..my former students..U.S.A. police are Not Political Weapons of a Political Party...like they are in Mexico..China..India..South America. Our Police is mostly NOT corrupt. They cannot be bribed as often as Politcans and Judges.

I was awake all night. I have knotts in my stomach this morning. I think The Democrats are gunning for the U.S.A Police...the suffering Migrants are only a ruse...a front..I really think that.

Big Chief: After reading your last 2 posts I have a knot in my stomach to. Our second revolution is coming, and if the Supreme Court takes away our right to bear arms today I'm afraid its gonna tip real soon.

The big 4 lead the way again. Nevada, California, Arizona, and Florida. Florida and California both have foreclosure rates above the rest of the country for May, 2008. The rates are significantly worse than April

. Top five Worst Foreclosure States For May, 2008 Rank State :

1....Nevada 23.8%

2 ....California 11.2 %

3.----Arizona 11.5%

4. .. Florida 8 5%

5. Michigan 24.5%

6 Georgia 11.4%

7 Colorado 10.%

8 ..........Mass. 32.8%

9 .......Ohio 5.2%

10.......... New Jersey 44.4*

California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada have nearly 400,000 homes in foreclosure, or a third of the nationwide total.

Mass.....New Jersey....Michigan...catching up....all of these states have large populations of Illegal Aliens..Georgia has half a Million..........

Nevada reported one foreclosure filing for every 165 households - more than three times the national average. The state had 6,197 filings in August, an increase of 21 percent from July and more than triple the year-ago figure.

California's foreclosure rate was one filing for every 224 households. The state reported the most foreclosure filings of any single state with 57,875, up 48 percent from July and an increase of more than 300 percent from August 2006.

Florida had one foreclosure filing for every 243 households. In all, the state reported 33,932 foreclosure filings, up 77 percent from July's total and more than twice the year-ago total.

The rate of homes going into foreclosure in Ohio and Michigan was narrowly lower than it was in the fourth quarter, and 18 other states also saw a decline in that rate.( Real Estate Blog, Columbia Dispatch, CNN Money Watch)

So this means that 97+% of all U.S.A. mortgages ARE NOT in trouble?they are being paid on time. This bill has a Five Billion Dollar Payoff to Home Builders and Developers..WHO STARTED THE CRISIS..as a Sweetner..added by Barney Franks?.Tuesday?The Home Builders Assoc. took out a Full Page Ad in USA Today?to take the Congress. They get to keep the money they made on Speculation?NOT pay income taxes on the Illegals they worked under the table?and NOW get FIVE BILLION DOLLARS SO THEY CAN KEEP IMPORTING ILLEGAL ALIENS TO KEEP BUILDING HOMES AMERICANS CAN?T BUY?..THIS IS A BAILOUT FOR MEXICO.AND ILLEGAL ALIENS. AND CAMPAIGN DONORS. DARN THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER.

A corrupt congress nothing more nothing less. Subsadise a $600,000 home loan? Get real this very notion is the exact reason we as a nation are on teh vurge of financial collapse. The housing market actually has gone through periods of price collapse during the entire history of this country. The GOP thinks funny money economics is so great and the DNC wants a nation of handouts. There has to be a common sense middle of the road solution, but you will not get on from the US Congress, they are all bought and paid for.

When Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama branded the name “Obamacans” in a speech earlier in his campaign, many in the media and others were confused or amused. “Who are these ‘Obamacans’ and what do they want?” exclaimed one pundit. The lexicon of punditry was blindsided by the new political paradigm. The answer has been in plain sight for over three years.

Obamacans are simply disaffected and disillusioned Republicans who have been embarrassed and bamboozled by the political parasites that have infested the Grand Old Party for over 20 years. These true GOP believers are more progressive and pragmatic, rather than conservative and ideological. They generally believe in governance and fiscal policies that emanate from the center, not the right or left. Their demographic crosses ethnic groups, socioeconomic levels, religious beliefs, and core ages from 30 to 60-plus. Moreover, they’re tired of being called Republicans as if it were a curse word.

Many have become so estranged from current day Republican politics and politricks, rather than convert to the Democratic Party, many have joined the ever-expanding Independent movement. As such, they have created a de facto political alliance composed of equally ****ed-off Democrats and died-in-the-wool believers who prefer being independent from the two major parties, or any party. They have congealed a belief that the two-party system is generally dysfunctional, corrupt, procrastinating and outmoded for today’s socioeconomic and global challenges.

Basically, they are part of a multigenerational group of voters and taxpayers that want things done, and done right. It’s also their belief that doing the right thing should not be inspired by political benefit. The most interesting part about Obamacans is that they are insulted by the moronic logic and schoolyard rhetoric of the Republican elites, spokespersons, pundits, operatives and cheerleaders.

Their eyes can’t roll far enough back anymore upon hearing another load of convoluted rationales from “tongue-wagging twits” about the state of America, the status of the Iraq war, and our ballooning global debt. In various ways, their basic lives have been negatively affected by their party’s tax and splurge policies. They are past the tipping point, and have experienced the exponential crippling of the American way of life for nearly a decade.

Like many other Americans, Obamacans are also tired of being scared as a motivational tool with lapel pin loyalty, faith, and pretentious patriotism as passports. Unfortunately, for them and many more, this has become the deceit decade. They, too, want change and a president to believe in.

Dennis Moore, Chairperson -- dennis@DCIndependents.org District of Columbia Independents for Citizen Control Party (DCICC) -- www.DCIndependents.org Proud Member of CUIP (Committee for a Unified Independent Party) -- www.IndependentVoting.org

So much out and out fraud took place in the housing market over the past few years. Houses with absolutely no land attached sold for several times their assessed value, as though there were something magical about the building supplies used. Many times these units were sold to people who should never have qualified for loans. and by virtue of the deals made had limited bargaining skills at best. We also had loans by the millions approved which had monthly payments below principal payments resulting in a situation where more money in the form of principal and interest were borrowed with every month's payment. These were marketed to people who wanted to buy bigger nicer houses than they could afford. Either someone was asleep at the switch (doubtful where there is money to be made) or someone was letting the situation slide because doing so was in some way to their benefit. In any case we should carefully review any sort of bailout legislation, just going pell mell because it is a political hot potato will result in the biggest bank robbery in American history. Vice is not one of those things that you should encourage with large monetary outlays.

I'm sorry you are angry at Mexicans, Big Chief and others. Some of my own ancestry is Mexican, my family is here legally, we all speak English, we all work, some as police officers. We've fought in America's wars and we are not the enemy. I very much regret if slimy socialist leaning politicians are using latinos as a stalking horse for their questionable policies, I think I'd be taking a hard look at the politicians in question and possibly aiding in their defeat in November. In any case, in my home state I have gone to the public records to look at the mortgage mess. Latinos are not a primary component in foreclosures here, what they seem to do is to buy and the whole family contributes to the mortgage payment. Once it's paid off they move on to another house and do the same thing. There does seem to be an inordinate representation of latinos in the local crime figures, that is deeply embarrassing and I hope the police will be able to round up the offending parties and ship them back where they came from, they make the rest of us look bad and present a clear and present danger to the public at large.

This is not your ordinary accounting fraud. Yes, there's the matter of $9 billion in overstated earnings. But the fight over Fannie is a nasty political showdown where everyone has his own agenda. And it's not over yet.

My my...we have a fresh copy of our "Communist Manifesto" handy don't we. Marx had a funny beard and even more ridiculous ideas. Dude, get a job then get a clue. Socialism and it's evil twin Communism are abject failures. It's empirically proved, case closed. The world runs on oil and Baskin Robbins is not gonna diverify to oil any time soon. Exxon/Chevron, B.P., Shell et al. have to do the job. Halliburton and Schumberger are the oil services companies that need to get it done. Big oil is not evil it just a really big VITAL business. Plastics, chemicals and many ancillary businesses NEED OIL. We are not going to be an oil free society in ANY of OUR LIFE TIMES! Face it, and let's get to work. Drill NOW. This lone ISSUE is going to BEAT DEMOCRATS ALL ACROSS the COUNTRY.

My my...we have a fresh copy of our "Communist Manifesto" handy don't we. Marx had a funny beard and even more ridiculous ideas. Dude, get a job then get a clue. Socialism and it's evil twin Communism are abject failures

I keep getting called a raving lunatic for insinuating that Barry's a Marxist.

I've been getting a more positive response from "democratic socialist."

Anyway I think that the larger issue at hand in dealing with the article is that liberals have a hard time with consequences in general.

I honestly believe that this is as much a moral issue as anything. And you don't need to get all religious about it.

Moral relativity has taken the place of religion in our society, and if everybody borrows money at an irresponsible rate and amount, then it must be ok.

This is so ridiculous!Where did the public servants go! These repulicans are only trying to investigate these issues because they believe that it will help them keep from losing seats in the fall. Dont use the American people as your scape goat, we aren't stupid we know your true method. Also, congress is so busy playing politics that they havent solved a thing. However I degress, our political system was built so that it would be hard for legislation to pass. Therefore, thats why this congress is having a horrible time passing anything and solving any problems. Anytime there is a solution it gets blocked for one reason or a another. Right now we are a victim of our own political system.